Deer season is just around the corner.  What can we expect?  The drought and its effects are hanging on like mice in the attic. A possible burn ban may continue through the deer seasons. What, no campfires? Been there, done that.

It wasn’t much fun sitting around, whittlin’ and jawin’. Forest fires are a real threat, especially the arson trash that sets them.

I remember our tent camp one snowy winter near the Glover River in McCurtain County.  

It was over-crowded and cold. Billy Glenn, “the Big Wind from the West End” was cooking squirrel stew. It was great and warmed us up. Joel Mashburn had to have seconds and spooned up a squirrel’s head that Billy had used for seasoning.  Joel screamed as Billy grabbed the buck-toothed feller. He had his knife out in a second, popped the skull cap off and sucked the brains out.

Joel dropped like a rock, fainting and piled up on the tent floor. Billy said ”this is the best part of the stew; there’s some more in the pot.”  We were laughing so hard, but I don’t think any of us had seconds, either.

My plan this year is to hunt near water, if I can find any. Planting food plots in skillet hot ground may be a waste of time. The pecan tree here at my house dropped a few pecans that were no bigger than rabbit pellets.

Since archery season starts in October, advance scouting is an immediate priority. While thumbing through the BPS catalog, I spotted a fleece jacket and pants in Mossy Oak Infinity pattern. It’s quiet to wear in the early season but will add warmth wearing it as a layering outfit. I will have some by season’s opening.

Don’t forget a safety harness for your tree stand hunting. Order one now. Today’s hunter has more items to help him be successful than ever before.  

Game scents as attractants and sprays to kill your scent are made by many top companies today. They work!

Mike Cowling has used a drag rag with unbelievable success.  Squirt some scent on a drag rag and pull it behind you as you walk to your stand. Get ready for a quick shot.

The most successful tip I can give a deer hunter is to sit still and stay in the woods. The O.D.W.C. did a study once and found that most hunters stayed in the woods for eight hours per season.  Many deer are killed after 10 a.m. while hunters are returning to camp. Most deer are killed between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., according to wildlife reports.

A deer survives by his nose, not his brains.  Scent is his main defense. Many hunters are getting dressed to hunt when they gas up their trucks. Then they eat breakfast in a smelly kitchen or around a smoky campfire. The deer are on alert the minute those hunters step into the woods.

I personally put my hunting clothes in a plastic bag, hopefully with a pine or cedar branch to season them.  Fred Bear always put a branch of local fern in his hat; it worked.  I put on my hunting gear just before I enter the woods and remove it when I get back to camp. I then put on camp clothes for the work to be done.

Remember; Smokey the Bear wants you to help prevent forest fires. Get ready for a challenging hunting season. Take a kid to the woods with you.

– L. FRY